New account?

[jasonw]

Ok so I picked up a new account last week. I started it on Friday and finished in Saturday. Unfortunately as you know I do have a day job so could not get er done in one day. Here are the details. Its about 1 acre, vacation house, long time family friend. He wants the entire property cut down. No landscaping, only weeds. Entire property was leveled and rocks removed so no problem using the tractor to get it done. I quoted $200 for the job which I was payed plus a $20 tip. He now wants it done once per month for the same price "$200" It took me 7 hours and 52 minutes total to do it. I know that's a long time but the weeds were a little taller than the hood on my dodge 1500 so it was first gear the whole time and I had to make 2-3 passes to cut it good. I assume every time from here on out will be no more than 4 hours, totaling about $50 per hour for the work. Sound good/bad? The last time it was done was last Easter and he paid $350 for a 6 man crew who took 3 days and did a very very bad job. Another good point is the property is directly adjacent to my parents property so the truck and trailer are parked in there driveway so no fear of theft or killing the battery using the light bar out at the road and another plus is lunch and refreshments are free lol.

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White Company

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Last edited by jasonw; 04-05-2010 at 11:42 AM.

[mwgtrade]

Lawn care business tips

Did you quate this job lower than you would others because you knew him personally?It sounds like a good gig only I would try to get him to agree on every three weeks so it doesn't get out of control.It will take you less time to mow and you will feel better about the price without offending anybody .Plus your parents are near by is real cool especially for lunch breaks or if you need to take a dump.May be you look at it as by keeping looking good you are making your parents property value go up and in turn making your inheritance better.

[jasonw]

Originally Posted by mwgtrade

Did you quate this job lower than you would others because you knew him personally?It sounds like a good gig only I would try to get him to agree on every three weeks so it doesn't get out of control.It will take you less time to mow and you will feel better about the price without offending anybody .Plus your parents are near by is real cool especially for lunch breaks or if you need to take a dump.May be you look at it as by keeping looking good you are making your parents property value go up and in turn making your inheritance better.

Every three weeks is not necessary. Once a month will be fine the way that property grows. It took a full year for the weeds to hit 4 feet so im not worried about it. Yes I did quote low because hes a long time family friend.

[Steve]

For four hours of work, it sounds pretty good. Does he know others in the area that he can refer you to?

[jasonw]

Originally Posted by Steve

For four hours of work, it sounds pretty good. Does he know others in the area that he can refer you to?

Probably not. He lives on the other side of the state, this is just a vacation home for him and his wife. The good new is that its in an unincorporated area of our county where most people have land. According to state law you must have 100 feet defensible space around any structure including a fence so others may see me out there working and ask for a quote on making them a fire break. I am a little wary of this though as I said his property was all leveled and rocks all removed so no fear of fire using the tractor to cut it down. I doubt anyone ells went to the expense to have the same done. That being said though for $200 per acre I would go out and buy a walk behind string trimmer for such jobs.

[Steve]

Well it will be interesting to see what comes from it Keep us posted.